Meet Eugene Warner, Who Has Buffalo in the ‘palm of His Hand’

To hear Eugene Warner of Buffalo, N. Y., talk, when it comes ### social welfare work Mrs. War-###er is the shining light of the Buffalo Warners.

But, without taking anything way from Mrs. Warner, who is extremely active in charity work ### the upstate city, Eugene himself is some pumpkins in the field. ###ne would never get that impression from Mr. Warner; it would have to come, as it did at the ###cent national conference of Jewish welfare workers, from associates who know intimately the cope and quality of his thirty-six ###ears of devotion to humane endeavor.

KEEPS IN THE BACKGROUND

Modesty and a desire to keep in the background whenever the {SPAN}###osannahs{/SPAN} are being sung seem to be outstanding characteristics of his short, stoutish man whose un{SPAN}###easing{/SPAN} labors have gained him national recognition. He prefers {SPAN}###{/SPAN} let his work speak for him or his associates—if they are so mind{SPAN}###er{/SPAN}—and they were so minded when a reporter herded Mr. War{SPAN}###er{/SPAN} in a corner and brought painful flushes to his solemn, wrinkled face with a flock of personal queries.

“There’s a man,” one of them said coming to his rescue—and to the reporter’s, “who’s got Buffalo in the hollow of his hand. The city doesn’t move without him. And when he pipes a tune, the public comes through for charity. There never has been anyone like Warner for getting money where anyone else would get excuses.”

Warner said “pshaw!” and cried to get a couple more words in for Mrs. Warner.

HOLDS MANY POSITIONS

But between his own parryings and the promptings of his friends, the following stray facts were pieced together for publication:

On the official side: He is 58 years old. He is an attorney by profession. Social welfare work is his hobby, one which he has ridden with unqualified success since his graduation from Harvard in 1898. At the present time he holds the following offices: Treasurer of the National Council of Jewish Federations and Welfare Funds; president of the Jewish Federation for Social Service; president of the Buffalo Council of Social Agencies; president of the New York State Conference on Social Work for 1935; member of the Erie County Emergency Relief Board; member of the board of trustees of the Buffalo Public Library and the Museum of Natural Science. He’s been married twenty-eight years and is the father of three children.

BUFFALO HIS FAVORITE

Despite the fact that he has lived there all his life, Buffalo remains his favorite city. In many respects, he says, the situation in Buffalo has improved during the past few months. The Federation there is on a sound financial basis and is operating successfully. It is one of the oldest in the country, second only, he points out, to the one in Cincinnati.

As for the purely personal side of Eugene Warner. Short, inclined to stoutness, partly bald, with a generous fringe of curly brown hair touched with gray, the keynote of the Warner character seems to be tenacity. He gives the impression of a hard-hitting fighter who flails away at his target with both fists until something drops.

In his college days, Warner was something of an athlete. He competed in a rather unusual field, cycling. Perhaps, if he had been born thirty years later, he might have become a six-day bike rider and spent his days pedaling around huge wooden saucers. He has the cyclist’s build—stocky, deep of chest and the guess can be hazarded that his legs are equipped with muscles of a sufficiently steely quality.

Aside from his welfare work, Warner likes books and fishing. Autobiography is his favorite reading matter and Canada and Georgian Bay are his favorite fishing haunts. If you ask him for his favorite dish—which he prepares himself—he’ll answer unhestitatingly for the first time, Welsh rarebit. He prepares it by mixing all his seasoning ingredients in beer.

Chares and his brother Jesus were killed in leading a Zealots’ attack on the men of Bathyra in the Judaeo-Roman war.